ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

“Ararat Suite”, for orchestraDedicated to the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, the story is based on the Old Testament Genesis chapter 8. Ararat Suite was recorded by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian, in 1998. The movements depict the foundation of Christianity in Armenia. The title refers to the biblical Ararat Mountain, which occupies the historic Armenian lands of Western Asia.

“Danses Fantastiques”, for orchestraThe original version of 'Danses Fantastiques' was written for solo piano in 1958, and later, in 1978, it was orchestrated and the first performance was given by Louisville Orchestra in the same year, in a choreographed production by Ron Cunningham and the Louisville Ballet. It was written as a graduation work for the Vienna Music Academy, from which the composer received a degree in music composition. In the same year, Tjeknavorian adopted the piece for three pianos, Celesta and Percussion. In 1963, it was recorded by Percussion Ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. US premiere with the ballet took place at the Interlochen Music Academy, conducted by Theo Alcantara and in 1973 the European premier took place in Paris with the Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble conducted by Raffi Petrossian.

Pardis & Parisa Suites No. 1 & 2Based on Tjeknavorian’s fairy tale opera 'Pardis & Parisa', the opera is in two acts and 4 scenes. The opera was premiered in 1972 at the Tehran Roudaki Opera house. Tjeknavorian was the Musical Director of the opera house and he conducted the premiere. The orchestral suites were extracted in 1975. The first performance was given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the second suite with the London Symphony, conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian, in 1987. The opera is about a teenage girl (Parisa) who is stolen by a monster and kept away in chains. Her friend Pardis goes looking for her and, with the help of the Queen of Doves, whom he meets in the woods, he finally finds her in a cave. Parisa shows Pardis the monster’s life-bottle and Pardis breaks it, killing the devil but also bringing down the entire cave. Luckily the Queen of Doves rescues them. The story ends with a big, happy feast, where Pardis and Parisa reunite with their friends. The suite was recorded by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1998. The Suite no.1 and 2 consist of 6 movements. Soon extracts from this recording were used by the famous car maker BMW in the promotional material for their new 7 series luxury vehicles as well as signature music for the Manchester based Granada TV and the Mexico TV.

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